Golf tee

ABSTRACT

A molded synthetic golf tee which can be used as a training aid or in actual play, and which provides a flexible arm molded integrally with the usual shank which is inserted into the ground and has a ball cup on its upper end. The arm extends from the shank a spaced distance upwardly above the ball cup to dispose a target at the upper end of the arm at ball level, a spaced distance laterally slightly more than the radius of a regulation ball from the center of the ball cup.

United States Patent 1 Redmon [111 3,749,409 July 31, 1973 GOLF TEE [76]inventor: Louis E. Redmon, Rt. 1,

Roscommon, Mich.

[22] Filed: Oct. 2, 1972 [21] Appl. N0.: 293,807

[52] U.S. CI. 273/183 A, 273/33 [51] Int. Cl. A63b 69/36, A63b 57/00[58] Field of Search 273/183, 195, 196,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,570,743 1/1926 Hollis273/183 A X 1,588,815 6/1926 Sillcocks 273/33 2,033,269 3/l936 Williams.273/183 A Primary Examiner-George J. Marlo Attorney-John F. Learman etal.

[57] ABSTRACT A molded synthetic golf tee which can be used as atraining aid or in actual play, and which provides a flexible arm moldedintegrally with the usual shank which is inserted into the ground andhas a ball cup on its upper end. The arm extends from the shank a spaceddistance upwardly above the ball cup to dispose a target at the upperend of the arm at ball level, a spaced distance laterally slightly morethan the radius of a regulation ball from the center of the ball cup.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures GOLF TEE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Theinvention relates to golf tees and more particularly to a tee which canbe used in such a manner as to train a golfer to alter his downswingsufficiently to correct a tendency to slice, or to hook, the ball. As iswell known by golfers, hooks are caused by the downswing taking tooextreme an inside-out path so that a counterclockwise spin is impartedto the ball. Slices are caused by an "outside-in are on the downswingwhich imparts a clockwise spin to the ball.

Over the years a golfer tends to groove" his swing and to constantlyrepeat the same mistakes. A golfer who, for instance, expects to slicethe ball will tend to try to hit the ball to the left side of thefairway on an out-of-bounds hole to the right, whereas a golfer whoexpects to hook will do the opposite on a hole which is out-of-bounds,or has a hazard to be avoided, along the left side of the fairway.Often, in attempting to compensate for a hook or slice which may occur,the golfer fails to align the vertical plane of his downswing with thegenerally parallel position in which he has placed his feet to hit theball down one side of the fairway or the other to avoid the hazard, andactually swings more outside-in or inside-out than he normally would.

The present invention provides a tee which has a target at ball level ina position laterally spaced from the ball cup such that the golfer canline up the head of his club initially with the ball (for purposes oftaking the backswing), but then can seek to hit the target on thedownswing. This has the effect of altering the downswing and of course,as the golfer practices 'with the unique tee over a protracted period oftime to, in effect, alter the "groove of his swing.

One of the prime objects of the present invention is to provide a tee ofthe character described which can be used in the manner indicated tolengthen the distance in the hitting area inwhich the hitting face ofthe club is square to the flight line, thereby improving accuracy anddecreasing any tendency for the ball to hook or slice.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tee which can be usedto modify the groovedswing of the player so that the golfer tends tocorrect a swing which on the downswing is too much "inside-out" or toomuch outside-in.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a golf teewhichprovidesa frame-of reference for the golfer and helps him to swing hisclub in a path generally parallel with his feet.

Another objectofthe invention is to provide a tee which permits thegolfer to more correctly determine the line of flight that the ball willtake, and to more accurately hit the ball to the desired target.

A still furtherobject of the invention is to provide a tee whichaccomplishes the aforementioned objects without interfering with theclub face or diminishing the impact force which it imparts to the ball.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tee of thecharacter described which can be used by both right and left-handedgolfers, and by "hookers" and slicers."

Another object of the invention is to provide a tee which is tough anddurable, and yet can be'very economically manufactured and madeavailable to golfers.

Still a further object of the invention'is to provide a tee which in itsuse as a training aid, orotherwise, tends to aid the 'golfersconcentration.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art as the descriptionthereof proceeds.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front endelevational view, the chain linesindicating the position of the tee target relative to a regulation golfball supported in the ball cup;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the unique tee;

FIG. 3 is an opposite, side elevational view thereof; FIG. 4 is a topplan view of the improved tee; and FIG. 5 is an inverse plan viewthereof.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings my uniquetee comprises a shank 10 with a pointed end 11 which facilitatesinserting the tee into the ground. Provided on the upper end of shank 10in the conventional manner'is a ball cup 12, having a ball receivingrecess 13 of a size to accommodate and support a regulation golf ball B.p g

The tee shown is injection molded of a synthetic plastic material suchas nylon, which is sufficiently tough and durable to withstand thepunishment which the tee will have to withstand in use. The plasticmaterial is suitably pigmentized to produce a tee of the desired color.Molded on the shank 10 a spaced distance below the ball cup 12 and apredetermined distance d from the pointed end 11 of the shank 10, is alarge hub or collar 14, from which projects a curvilinear arm 15terminating at its upper end in a linear portion 16, having achevron-shaped target plate 17 thereon. As will be noted, the targetplate 17 is spaced adistance a above the center y of recess'1'3 suchthat the'target is disposed just below the center xof a regulation golfball B.

The distance a will correspond to a figure just slightly less than theradius (0.84 of an inch) of a regulation United States golf ball and, inpractice, is about 0.8 of an inch. Moreover, the inner side of targetplate 17 is disposed a lateral distance b from the center y of therecessed surface 13 and also the center x of the ball, which is adistance just slightly larger than the radius of a regulationUnitedStatesgolf ball and, in practice, is about 0.9 of an inch.

As will be observed particularly in FIGS. 4and 5, the ends of targetplate 17 convergeto targetedges, as at 17a and 17b. i

It is important to note that the resilient arm 16 is far more flexiblethan the relatively rigid shank l0 and will move relativevto shankl0'when struckby the club head. This is true because the diametral crosssectional area of arm Isis somewhat less than the diametral crosssectional area of the shank l0-and part 14. his moreover true becausethe arm 16 is elongate and extends upwardly a considerable distance fromthe hub 14.

THE OPERATION his tendency to hook. lf the same right-handed player wereattempting to correct a slice" he would, from the same position, simplyreorient the tee 180 so that the target" was disposed nearer to him thanthe ball B resting on ball cup 12. in either instance the player, whowill be assumed to be hitting a driver and so hitting the ball off hisleft heel, will position the tee so that the line of sight c points tothe target and will, in preparing to swing, align the club face of hisdriver so that it is at right angles to the line of sight 0, but iscentered on the ball B, rather than the target 17. Once the golfer hastaken his usual back-swing he will, however, focus on the target edge17a as a target and seek to move the club face in an are which iscentered on the target rather than on the ball. I

In the case of a golfer who has a tendency to hook, this will tend toflatten out the arc of his formerly too abrupt inside-out swing and keepthe club face aligned squarely to the ball for a longer time in thehitting area. The result is a stright shot rather than a hooked shot.

Similarly in correcting for a slice a player, with the target 17 nowdisposed closer to him than the ball, will,

in attempting to hit the target, tend to flatten out an out-side-in" arcand so avoid slicing the ball. While the player lines up his club facewith the center of the ball, it is better for him to focus his eyes onthe target prior to the time he commences his back-swing, so that hisconcentration on the target remains unchanged throughout his swing.

The positioning of the target 17 just below the center of the ball,permits the player to utilize a swing which,

at its lowest point, is the same as his normal swing, with the targetand ball both, so to speak, in the hitting area, in the normal arc ofthe club head path. Moreover, it is, of course, important that thetarget be disposed only just to the side of the ball, so that a clubhead targeted to hit the target 17 will strike the ball sufficientlycentrally that it receives a full impact and proceeds straight off thetee.

At the time of contact, the ball which has a rear portion disposedrearwardly of the target 17, is, of course, struck first of all, howeverit is necessary that the target 17 and arm 16 give relative to the teeshank 10 so as not to reduce the impact imparted to the ball in anymaterial way. On impact, the arm 16 moves forwardly and at the same timeswings downwardly with the club head in an are about the connection ofarm 15 to the hub 14. The arm swings forwardly and downwardly relativeto the shank 10, which, preferably, but of course not alw ys, remains inthe ground. The arm 15 then swings back to its former position, once theclub head has passed beyond it. The upper end 16 of the arm 15 must movedownwardly sufficiently, when engaged by the club head, to permit theclub head to pass beyond it, so that the tee does not in any wayinterfere with a normal follow through.

The position of hub 14 is so gauged that a finger can be used above thehub part 14 when the tee is inserted into the ground to the level of thehub 14 which, of course, is so disposed that, when the tee is insertedinto the ground to hub level, it disposes the ball B at a proper height.

It is to be understood that the drawings and descriptive matter are inall cases to be interpreted as merely illustrative of the principles ofthe invention, rather than as limiting the same in any way, since it iscontemplated that various changes may be made, in various elements toachieve like results without departing from the spirit of the inventionor the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A molded synthetic plastic golf tee for use as a training aid andotherwise comprising:

a shank, which can be inserted into the ground, having a ball cup on'itsupper end;'and

a flexible arm molded integrally with the shank a spaced distance belowsaid ball cup and having a target on its upper end, said arm extendingupwardly to dispose the target at ball level a spaced transversedistance slightly more than the radius of a regulation ball from thecenter of the ball cup.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said arm is partlycurvilinear in extent and has at least a portion of reducedcross-sectional area relative to said tee shank to provide it withflexibility relative to said shank so that it moves forwardly relativethereto when struck by the driving face of a golf club.

3. The combination set forth in claim I in which said target comprises apointer strip extending rearwardly from said arm a distance to disposeits rear end just forwardly of the rear of a regulation ball disposed inthe tee cup.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which said strip projectsfrom said arm alike distance in the opposite direction so as to beuseful when the tee is turned through a revolution.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 in which each end of the stripterminates in a V configuration.

6. The combination set forth inclaim l in which the arm integrates withan enlarged portion of said tee shank, which gauges the depth of teeinsertion, and lies in the plane of the shank.

7. The tee of claim 1 in which said plastic is nylon.

8. The tee of claim 1 in which the target is disposed only just belowthe center of a regulation ball disposed in the tee cup; J

s s s a s

1. A molded synthetic plastic golf tee for use as a training aid andotherwise comprising: a shank, which can be inserted into the ground,having a ball cup on its upper end; and a flexible arm molded integrallywith the shank a spaced distance below said ball cup and having a targeton its upper end, said arm extending upwardly to dispose the target atball level a spaced transverse distance slightly more than the radius ofa regulation ball from the center of the ball cup.
 2. The combinationset forth in claim 1 in which said arm is partly curvilinear in extentand has at least a portion of reduced cross-sectional area relative tosaid tee shank to provide it with flexibility relative to said shank sothat it moves forwardly relative thereto when struck by the driving faceof a golf club.
 3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which saidtarget comprises a pointer strip extending rearwardly from said arm adistance to dispose its rear end just forwardly of the rear of aregulation ball disposed in the tee cup.
 4. The combination set forth inclaim 3 in which said strip projects from said arm a like distance inthe opposite direction so as to be useful when the tee is turned througha 180* revolution.
 5. The combination set forth in claim 4 in which eachend of the strip terminates in a V configuration.
 6. The combination setforth in claim 1 in which the arm integrates with an enlarged portion ofsaid tee shank, which gauges the depth of tee insertion, and lies in theplane of the shank.
 7. The tee of claim 1 in which said plastic isnylon.
 8. The tee of claim 1 in which the target is disposed only justbelow the center of a regulation ball disposed in the tee cup.